As I research where to go prospecting I’ve been doing a lot of reading of old reports, and old newspapers. During this reading I’ve come across many reports of sizeable Tasmanian gold nuggets. I’ve put together a database of all reported historical finds of decent-sized Tasmanian gold nuggets that I’ve come across. If you’ve come across references for significant Tasmanian gold nugget finds that aren’t here, please let me know (you can get in contact through my CONTACT page) and I’ll add it in.
I’ve laid out a table that you should be able to sort by any column, and you can also use the search box provided.
Table of historical Tasmanian gold nuggets
Locality | Year | Type | Weight oz | Weight g | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mangana | 1855 | nugget | 0.48 | 15 | Trove |
Mangana | 1856 | nugget | 0.75 | 23.25 | Trove |
Mangana | 1857 | nugget | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Beaconsfield | 1859 | nugget | 2 | 62 | Trove |
Mangana | 1867 | specimen | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Mangana | 1867 | nugget | 8 | 248 | Trove |
Mangana | 1867 | nugget | 8 | 248 | Trove |
Den Ranges | 1868 | specimen | 1.5 | 46.5 | Trove |
Fingal area (Mangana?) | 1868 | nugget | 1.5 | 46.5 | Trove |
Mangana | 1868 | nugget | 1.5 | 46.5 | Trove |
Den goldfield | 1869 | specimen | 1.5 | 46.5 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1870 | nugget | 0.75 | 23.25 | Trove |
Lefroy | 1870 | specimen | 2.25 | 69.75 | Trove |
Mathinna | 1870 | nugget | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Camp Creek | 1870s | nugget | 3.5 | 108.5 | Trove |
Hellyer River | 1873 | nugget | 1.2 | 37.2 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1878 | nugget | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Brandy Creek | 1878 | nugget | 8 | 248 | Trove |
Browns Plains | 1879 | nugget | 1.5 | 46.5 | Trove |
Corinna area | 1879 | nugget | 1.5 | 46.5 | Trove |
Cygnet | 1879 | nugget | 0.75 | 23.25 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1880 | nugget | 1.2 | 37.2 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1880 | nugget | 4 | 124 | Trove |
Corinna area | 1880 | nugget | 2 | 62 | Trove |
Pieman area | 1880 | nugget | 9 | 279 | Trove |
Salisbury | 1880 | nugget | 22 | 682 | Trove |
Salisbury | 1880 | nugget | 6.75 | 209.25 | Trove |
Salisbury | 1880 | nugget | 2.6 | 80.6 | Trove |
Golden Ridge | 1882 | nugget | 7.75 | 240.25 | Trove |
Long Plains | 1882 | nugget | 8 | 248 | Trove |
Long Plains area | 1882 | nugget | 17 | 527 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1883 | nugget | 3 | 93 | Trove |
King River area (Lynchford?) | 1883 | nugget | 8 | 248 | Trove |
Back Creek? | 1884 | nugget | 5 | 155 | Trove |
Denison | 1885 | nuggets | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Long Plains | 1885 | specimen | 5.7 | 176.7 | Trove |
Linda | 1886 | nugget | 4.5 | 139.5 | Trove |
Linda | 1886 | specimen | 7.5 | 232.5 | Trove |
Golden Ridge | 1889 | nugget | 2 | 62 | Trove |
King River | 1889 | nugget | 3 | 93 | Trove |
Five Mile Rise | 1890 | nugget | 2.5 | 77.5 | Trove |
Five Mile Rise | 1890 | nugget | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Five Mile Rise | 1890 | nugget | 4 | 124 | Trove |
Five Mile Rise | 1890s | nugget | 6 | 186 | Trove |
Ring River | 1891 | nugget | 10.25 | 317.75 | Trove |
Ring River | 1892 | nugget | 4 | 124 | Trove |
Melba Flats | 1892 | nugget | 0.75 | 23.25 | Trove |
Ring River | 1892 | nugget | 1.25 | 38.75 | Trove |
Bell Mount | 1893 | nugget | 8 | 248 | Trove |
Bell Mount | 1893 | nugget | 16 | 496 | Trove |
Melba Flats | 1893 | nugget | 5 | 155 | Trove |
Queenstown | 1893 | specimen | 5.5 | 170.5 | Trove |
Rocky River | 1883 | nugget | 243 | 7533 | Trove |
Rocky River | 1883 | nugget | 144 | 4464 | Trove |
Rocky River | 1883 | nugget | 39.75 | 1232.25 | Trove |
Rocky River | 1883 | nugget | 9.5 | 294.5 | Trove |
Bell Mount | 1894 | nugget | 10 | 310 | Trove |
Bell Mount | 1894 | nugget | 22 | 682 | Trove |
Queenstown | 1894 | nugget | 5 | 155 | Trove |
Dundas | 1895 | nugget | 4.75 | 147.25 | Trove |
Dundas | 1895 | nugget | 2.4 | 74.4 | Trove |
Dundas | 1895 | nugget | 2.25 | 69.75 | Trove |
Melba Flats | 1900 | nugget | 4 | 124 | Trove |
Melba Flats | 1902 | nugget | 6 | 186 | Trove |
Queenstown | 1903 | nugget | 2 | 62 | Trove |
Queenstown | 1903 | nugget | 12.95 | 401.45 | Trove |
Lefroy | 1905 | nugget | 3.55 | 110.05 | Trove |
Lefroy | 1905 | nugget | 5.67 | 175.77 | Trove |
Linda | 1911 | nugget | 4 | 124 | Trove |
Linda | 1911 | nugget | 4 | 124 | Trove |
Linda | 1911 | nugget | 1 | 31 | Trove |
Beaconsfield | 1914 | nugget | 2.85 | 88.35 | Trove |
Lynchford | 1914 | specimen | 5 | 155 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1915 | nugget | 9 | 279 | Trove |
Zeehan | 1915 | nugget | 2.5 | 77.5 | Trove |
Back Creek | 1920 | nugget | 3 | 93 | Trove |
Adamsfield | 1926 | nugget | 2.5 | 77.5 | Trove |
Long Plains | 1927 | nugget | 4.8 | 148.8 | Trove |
Mangana | 1932 | specimen | 4.6 | 142.6 | Trove |
Jane River | 1935 | nugget | 0.9 | 27.9 | Trove |
Lefroy | 1942 | nugget | 1.55 | 48.05 | Trove |
If you’re interested in modern finds, I think you won’t get much luck. Most people detecting today are very secretive about their finds. Ralph Bottrill’s booklet on Alluvial Gold in Tasmania has a table in page 6 which includes some modern reported finds.
A thing to keep in mind is that some of these reported Tasmanian gold nugget finds are probably dubious. I’ve screened out obvious errors, such as when a nugget was reported as weighing 25 dwt by one newspaper, and 25 ounces by another on the same day at the same place. However, non-existent large nuggets were sometimes reported just to drum up business, so to speak. It’s probably safe to take the old newspaper reports with a pinch of salt.
Again, if you’ve come across articles or publications reporting finds of Tasmanian gold nuggets that aren’t on this list, please let me know. Also if you have suggestions or ideas about the table layout and functionality, or any other feedback on what you’d like to see here, please get in touch through my contact page!
What an interesting resource, thanks for creating this! Even if some of those are of non-existent large nuggets reported to drum up business, the number of nuggets and the weight of ones reported are significant enough to indicate that many would be accurate. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a 100g in Tassie today 🙂
Yes, I’m sure there’s still some out there. There was a mention a few years back of someone finding a 70g nugget.
Interesting , I’ve always wanted to gold prospect in Tas. You may be interested to know that i have an early photograph prob. 19thC. of a huge gold nugget named ‘the port Arthur’ maybe this was found in Tasmania.
Hi Vic,
I found this when I did some investigating: Port Arthur Nugget. It looks like it was found in Victoria. It’s possible that the finder or an ancestor was a convict at Port Arthur, or that there was another connection.
If you like I can upload the photos here. Send me a message on the Contact Form and I’ll send you an email you can reply and attach to.
Im in Hobart, where would be the best place to a metal detector
Hi April,
I’ve seen them for sale on Anaconda, just basic treasure detectors, not a bad price. If you’re looking for a gold detector then online from reputable suppliers is the way to go. Watch out for fakes, though, if you shop in Ebay or Gumtree there are almost more fakes than real ones.
Miguel
Hi Mad Taz Prospector
I’m soon on my way to Tasmania with my son, but mostly to catch trouts.
However very recently, my son got the gold fever, after a visit in Bathurst ( NSW ). He convinced me to buy a metal detector. We went for the Go Find 20.
I am thinking of taking it with us, together with turbo pans and small shovel to have a go in some of the effluents to the lake.
We will travel west from Launceston, west of Cradel mountain, down to Queenstown and then back to great lake, via King Williams Lake.
During my readings, you seem the person who pops up the most, and your posts, answer and remarks are truly remarkable.
Is there a place worth stopping and taking the detector / pans out in search for some colour?
Hi Thomas,
Some of the creeks and rivers around Queenstown have gold. If you’re planning to fish at Lake Burbury then Linda Creek is not too far. Good luck!
Hi Tasprospector, please don’t encourage people to the left of the bridge at Moorina!!!
So much rubbish, and unmentionable things done on private land to the left of the bridge over the Weld…this is not designated fossicking area!! And very illegal!
Help making this known would be appreciated! Cheers.
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for the comment, though it would have been better placed in the post about sapphires.
I don’t know what you mean by “the left of the bridge at Moorina”. Do you mean the east or west bank, to the north or south of the bridge? The exact extent of the designated fossicking area is in the MRT website at http://www.mrt.tas.gov.au/portal/documents/10184/26357/6740c.jpg
Loading up LISTmap, I can’t see private property on the banks of the Weld in Moorina, other than the Gold Course block, which is clearly marked on the MRT website map. Can you be more specific, please?
Cheers,
Miguel
PS I should add that I certainly would never encourage people to leave a mess behind, whether inside or outside a designated fossicking area. That’s just common sense!
Hi Tasprospector, I have not tried any prospecting or fossicking as yet but have looked at a few areas using those maps and was wondering if you can camp in or near fossicking areas? I have also been watching and listening to a lot of your advice and its great 🙂 but somewhere over the last 2 hours haha you said fossicking is gemstones so if you find gold (hopefully) do you need a prospecting license aswell?
Hi Max,
Whether you can camp in a fossicking area or not doesn’t really have anything to do with the fossicking area itself. It just depends on the land tenure and whether you’re allowed to camp in that type of land or not. For example, I often camp in or near fossicking areas in State Forest.
You need a prospecting licence to prospect for any mineral, metals like gold included, outside of a designated fossicking area. No licence required inside the fossicking areas.
Hi there to get a licence for gold prospecting how long do it last for after you have one i live in Tasmania ?
Hi Rick,
You can get a Prospecting licence from Mineral Resources Tasmania. They cost just over $30 for a year.